Travel Tour: America’s Best Sandwiches

A sandwich is one of the simplest productions of the food world, with only two slices of bread and one filling needed. There are an endless number of ingredients and combinations that can be used to create this culinary staple. It is impossible to determine a complete list of the world’s best sandwiches with so many different restaurants, delis, and cafés competing with their own special ingredients – not to mention the varying taste buds of the sandwich eaters. Curious about sandwich celebrities, we did some research and have compiled a travel list with some prominent locations where legendary sandwiches are being served. Be sure to check these out next time you’re touring some of America’s greatest cities!

Perfect Pastrami

It doesn’t take much asking around to learn that Katz’s Delicatessen located at 205 East Houston Street in New York City is the place to go to find best pastrami sandwich for miles around. Loved by tourists and locals alike, this sandwich shop offers up huge servings of what CBS Radio has called “Pound for pound, the best pastrami on earth”. Make this spot a stop on your tour of the Lower East Side between visiting one of the nearby museums and the Essex Street Market.

Cultural Cuban

After an interesting and heated debate between the cities of Tampa and Miami for the rights to be identified as the home of the original Cuban sandwich, Tampa is now basking in its sandwich glory and spreading the word about the best places to get a taste of this classic. Featured in Saveur magazine for serving up a traditional version of this popular sandwich, The Columbia restaurant located in Ybor City also proclaims that it is the oldest restaurant in Florida.

Gorgeous Grilled Cheese

Recognized by Food & Wine Magazine and featured on Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race, Roxy’s Gourmet Grilled Cheese truck in Boston takes the simplest sandwich on earth and makes it extraordinary. Rumor has it that they spread mayonnaise on the bread in lieu of butter before it goes on the grill to give it an edge.

The Better BLT

More than a few foodies have been talking about the BLT at Ted’s Butcherblock in Charleston, South Carolina. Not only does this sandwich include the all important ‘L’ and ‘T’, but it also boasts artisanal ‘B’ that is brought straight from the butcher counter to your plate. This, plus the garlic aioli, launches this particular version of the BLT one step ahead of the others.

The Popular PB&J

Just when you thought that the classic peanut butter and jelly couldn’t get any better, some brilliant minds brought together PBJ’s Grilled food cart in Portland, Oregon. This mobile PB&J restaurant seems to have nothing but rave reviews for creative takes on America’s favorite sandwich. Look out for concoctions such as the Oregonian with duck meat or the Spicy Thai PB&J with coconut shrimp.

A Particular Pulled-Pork

Payne’s Bar-B-Que in Memphis is no secret to pulled pork lovers. It may not have the most up-scale interior in the city, but those who love flavor know that this is a great place to go for plenty of it. The mustard coleslaw that tops their sandwiches seems to be as much of a hit as the pork.

Philly’s Famous Cheesesteak

It’s hard to talk about the famous Philly cheesesteak without mentioning Pat’s King of Steaks on Passyunk Avenue in Philadelphia. This is the home of the original cheesesteak and has been owned and operated by the same family for over 80 years. Regardless of its history, it seems that this place still takes the number one spot for many cheesesteak fans.

The Rightful Reuben

The reuben is a well-loved sandwich in America, so finding just one to choose for this list proved difficult, but it seems that Michigan sparked the most conversation for this corned beef classic. Several restaurants and delis in Michigan are involved in a fan war for best reuben, but the one that came up the most had to be that of Zingerman’s Delicatessen in Ann Arbor. For upwards of $130, Zingerman’s has also made their famous reuben available by mail in a “reuben sandwich kit” delivered to your door.

Pristine Po-Boy

While Domilise’s Po-Boy & Bar may be an easily missed yellow home on the corner, it is more importantly one of the top spots to get an authentic po-boy in New Orleans, Louisiana. While there is no shortage of po-boy joints in New Orleans, this one has become extremely popular over time with the help of some big press from Anthony Bourdain and the Travel Channel. Based on the many reviews acquired by this eatery, it’s easy to see that the shrimp po-boy is the favorite.

The Loveliest Lobster Roll

As the third mobile restaurant on our America’s Best Sandwiches list, the lobster rolls of Bite into Maine are hard to beat. Found not far from Portland Head Light, Maine’s premiere lighthouse, this truck serves an at-home take on the lobster roll with classic mayonnaise as well as some twisted versions involving curry or even chipotle.

Chelsea Tyler is a Marketing Associate at FlipKey. During her time studying literature at Colby College, she traveled to Paris, France where she spent six months learning French and falling in love with the city. When she's not writing for the FlipKey blog, she can be found sipping red wine, eating her weight in cheese, and loudly critiquing new film releases.

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